News

February 2018: Jack Gordon was a guest lecturer to the chef instructors and administrators at The Institute of Culinary Education, where he taught a course on Sexual Harassment in the Restaurant Industry.

February 2018: Michael B. Kent’s article, “Negotiating and Drafting Restaurant Leases” was published in the Lexis Practice Advisor Journal and through Law360, LexisNexis’s premier legal news and analysis service. The article condenses Michael’s decades of experience in this area and commercial leasing generally. The article can be found here. [read more]

December 2017: Senior associate, Brian C. Avello, along with friends from Blockchain Careers, organized and hosted a "Working in the Blockchain Ecosystem 2018" Meetup at KBG's offices. The multiple presentations focused on engineering and developer job opportunities in the growing space, as well as Brian's talk on "A Day in the Life of a Digital Asset Lawyer".

December 2017: Christine Rafin was quoted in the article, "A New Social World," published in the December 2017 issue of Security Management Magazine. The article can be found here.

November 2017: KBG, along with attorneys from Humphrey, Farrington & McClain, the Klamann Law Firm, and White, Graham, Buckley & Carr, won a $60 million jury verdict for clients Dennis Demetre and Lori Lewis, who sold their family-owned company to HMS Holdings Corp. (“HMS”), a NASDAQ-traded company based in Irving, Texas. The jury, sitting in Supreme Court, New York County, unanimously found that HMS breached the Stock Purchase Agreement and awarded $60,000,000 in damages. With interest, the award is currently worth $87,000,000.

November 2017: Jack Gordon was a guest lecturer to Columbia University MBA students taking a course taught by Stephen Zagor, Dean of Culinary Business and Industry Studies at The Institute of Culinary Education. Jack spoke on the legal aspects of launching a food product or opening a restaurant to students taking Stephen's course entitled Food Entrepreneurship.

October 2017: Michael Kent represented The Doughnut Project in the negotiation and making of a favorable long-term lease, marking The Doughnut Project’s expansion to Midtown Manhattan.

October 2017: Christine Rafin taught a webinar through the Clear Law Institute entitled Removing Defamatory, Infringing and Negative Information from the Internet: Practical Guidance. Participants earn 1.5 CLE credits for attending. The program can be found [here].

October 2017: Michael Kent and Harry Beatty continued their representation of one of KBG’s venture capital clients in connection with the Blood Manor entertainment group, specifically the current production of Blood Manor Presents Crypts of the Coliseum, an expanded 10,000 square foot attraction, which includes 50 actors among state of the art scare technology, at the Nassau Veterans Coliseum (Long Island). KBG was involved in the negotiation and making of the agreements with the Coliseum.

September 2017: Michael Kent, leading KB&G’s entertainment group, and Harry Beatty, leading KB&G’s corporate group, represented one of its venture capital clients in its investment in the Blood Manor entertainment group, producer of Manhattan’s premier “Haunted” event in a 5,000-square-foot “labyrinth of horrors.” KBG and its client are now working with Blood Manor to bring the production to a national audience.

August 2017: KB&G’s real estate and hospitality groups represented Neuman’s Kitchen, Inc., one of New York’s preeminent high-end event and catering services, in all aspects of the expansion of its operations into Pennsylvania, including the leasing of a state-of-the art food preparation facility in Philadelphia.

June 2017: KB&G’s corporate and hospitality groups represented Doughnut Bar, LLC in licensing its trademarks, recipes and other intellectual property to Pillars Group, so that Pillars can establish The Doughnut Project bakeries and restaurants in the Gulf Cooperation Council and Egypt. The initial location is scheduled to be opened later this year in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as “Dots, by The Doughnut Project.”

June 2017: Harry Beatty and KB&G’s corporate group represented Clos de los Siete S.A. in establishing a long-term distribution agreement with Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits. Clos de los Siete (House of the Seven) is a venture of seven French families, including the family of renown oenologist Michel Rolland, that produces a high-quality Bordeaux style red wine in the Mendoza valley of Argentina. Deutsch Family is responsible for the phenomenal growth of the modestly priced Yellowtail brand, and represents many private labels in concert with Total Wines & More.

June 2017: KB&G’s real estate and hospitality groups represented restaurateur Leith Hill in all aspects of the lease transaction for her latest Ellary’s Green Café at the Sportime-Randall’s Island Tennis facility, New York City's premier tennis destination and home of the John McEnroe Tennis Academy.

June 2017: Harry Beatty was a panelist at the VIP workshop, “Hemp MBA in a Day,” at the Cannabis World Congress & Business Exposition. Harry’s panel addressed hemp specific investment issues and risks. The Expo was held at the Jacob Javits Convention Center from June 14th to 16th.

June 2017: KB&G’s real estate group continued its representation of the Marcus Pain Institute by successfully negotiating the extension and modification of the long-term lease for the Institute’s New York offices and treatment facility.

May 2017: KB&G’s real estate, hospitality and corporate groups represented Shaunna Sargent and Al Butts in all hospitality, leasing and construction law aspects of the expansion of their Indie Wine and Food brand to Long Island City.

April 2017: Harry Beatty and KBG’s real estate group negotiated a new lease for Gaia Botanicals LLC, d/b/a Bluebird Botanicals, for space in Louisville, Colorado. The new lease allows Bluebird, a leading wholesaler and retailer in the hemp and hemp extract markets, to consolidate their separate office, warehouse and FDA- compliant kitchen operations into much larger space under one roof.

March 2017: Jack Gordon served as a panelist on "Opening a Restaurant in New York: Legal Issue Boot Camp," produced by the New York City Bar. Jack spoke on entity formation, raising capital, intellectual property protection, executive employment agreements and management contracts.

March 2017: KB&G’s real estate and hospitality groups represented restaurateur Meny Vaknin and his investment group in connection with their new Marcel Bakery & Kitchen venture, including all organizational matters and the negotiation and consummation of its long-term lease in Upper Montclair, New Jersey.

March 2017: KB&G’s real estate and hospitality groups represented restaurateur Michael Wetherbee (Momofuku Ma Feche, PUBLIC, Saxon+Parole), and his partner, executive chef Akhtar Nawab (Gramercy Tavern, Craft, The E.U. Eletarria), in the negotiation and making of the long-term lease for their just opened new restaurant, Alta Calidad, in the Prospect Heights section of Brooklyn.

February 2017: KB&G’s real estate, hospitality and corporate groups represented Colin Clarke (Gramercy Tavern, Fanny’s) and his team in the transactional, hospitality and real estate aspects of their long anticipated artisanal restaurant, café and bakery venture to be known as Sheila’s Café, located in the Cobble Hill section of Brooklyn.

February 2017: KB&G acted as special United States counsel for the Canal Toys S.A. group in connection with a cross-border, multi-million dollar investment in the group by a French hedge fund, including the creation and issuance of convertible preferred stock in Canal Toys USA, Inc., the United States subsidiary.

February 2017: KB&G’s corporate and hospitality groups structured operational documents for Certified Catering Consultants, LLC, a new company offering a full range of hospitality related consultancy services.

January 2017: KB&G’s hospitality, real estate and corporate groups represented FJP Hospitality Group, Inc. and celebrity chef Julieta Ballesteros and their investor partners in all organizational matters, as well as in the negotiation and consummation of the lease for its newly opened TAVO restaurant in the West Village in Manhattan.

December 2016: KB&G’s real estate group, led by Michael Kent, represented J’Aime Organics LLC in the negotiation and making of a long-term lease for its first production kitchen and retail store in Manhattan. KB&G’s hospitality and corporate groups continue to represent J’Aime Organics with respect to its expansion planning.

December 2016: Harry C. Beatty was inducted into Confrérie de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs, a society devoted to excellence in all areas of the hospitality arts. Chaîne is the world’s oldest and most prestigious food and wine gastronomic society. Based on the French royal guild of goose roasters, established in Paris in 1248, Chaîne promotes fine dining and the camaraderie and pleasures of the table, and has members in more than 100 countries.

November 2016: KB&G’s Corporate Group acted as special counsel for Davos Brands in connection with Davos’ purchase of the Aviation Gin brands. KB&G helped negotiate and finalize production and bottling agreements for the continued sourcing of the purchased brands. Previously, KB&G had represented Davos in the establishment of its distribution rights to the brands.

August 2016: Michael Kent, leading KB&G’s entertainment group, and Harry Beatty, leading KB&G’s corporate group, represented one of its venture capitalist clients in its investment in the major motion picture Hacksaw Ridge, released by Lionsgate Films in November 2016. The film, with a screenplay by Robert Schenkkan, stars Vince Vaughn and marks the directorial return of Mel Gibson. It won two Oscars.

March 2016: KBG's litigation team, led by Jack A. Gordon with the assistance of partner Joshua Katz, obtained an order from New York Supreme Court, Kings County, pursuant to CPLR 3220 requiring attorney Lewis Saul to pay firm client and renowned photographer Eric Cahan the attorneys' fees incurred by him after the date we served an Offer of Judgment, even though the matter did not go to trial. (It was dismissed prior to trial.) A copy of Justice Demarest's decision and order can be found here.

January 2016: Jack A. Gordon taught a seminar for The National Business Institute entitled Restaurant Law to an audience of several hundred attendees. Participants earn 1.5 CLE credits for attending. The program can be found here.

2015 to January 2016: Harry Beatty and KBG’s corporate group represented Destilería Serrallés, Inc. in extended and complicated negotiations with the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and its agencies, including its Treasury, Government Bank and the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company, to establish Trust and Lock Box arrangements with Citibank, N.A. securing for DSI and other Puerto Rican rum producers the payment of production incentives consisting of “cover over,” that is, the excise taxes remitted to the Commonwealth by the U.S. Federal Treasury. The arrangement provides security with respect to hundreds of millions of dollars a year owed to the rum producers.

December 2015: KB&G’s real estate and hospitality groups represented Antico Noé in the negotiation and making of a lease for its new restaurant in Manhattan, representing the first presence of the Antico Noé brand outside of Florence, Italy.

December 2015: Harry C. Beatty and the corporate law group represented Bermuda Motor Car Renting Co., Inc. in establishing a joint venture with Alpine Limousine and Precision Limousine International Inc.

November 2015: KB&G’s real estate and corporate departments represented Golden Charms, Inc., as lender, in the making of a time is of the essence secured loan with respect to the ultra-luxury condominium project at 150 Charles Street, Manhattan.

November 2015: Harry C. Beatty and the corporate law group represented DAVOS Brands in acquiring the master distribution rights in the United States to the Sombra mescal and the Astral tequila brands.

October 2015: Kent, Beatty & Gordon is named winner for Best for Business Counseling – New York, 2015, by AI Legal Awards.

September 2015: Jack A. Gordon was named a New York Metro Area Super Lawyer in the field of Commercial Litigation for the fourth straight year, and Harry Beatty was named a New York Metro Area Super Lawyer in the area of Corporate and Commercial Law for the first time by Super Lawyers Magazine.

September 2015: Brian C. Avello joins KB&G as a senior associate, with more than six years of experience in the areas of commercial litigation and arbitration and employment law. Brian also has a background with technology companies, having worked with a Washington D.C.-based startup as general counsel and head of business development.

September 2015: KB&G’s corporate and hospitality teams counseled its client in the structuring of its participation in the expansion of the Sugar Factory brand to its new location in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District.

August 2015: Jack A. Gordon and Josh Katz successfully obtained an order from the Southern District of New York vacating a default judgment entered against firm clients Nathaniel Grady and Judy Stanford in April of 2011. The Decision and Order of Judge Cathy Seibel can be found here.

August 2015: Michael Kent, after seven years of counseling his investment trust client, the owner of three contiguous properties on Fulton Street in downtown Brooklyn, in the analysis of several property development repositioning alternatives, ultimately represented the trust in the $25mm sale of the properties.

August 2015: KB&G’s real estate team represented Madison Avenue Furs in negotiating its client’s exit protocols from its long serving Manhattan location, and in negotiating the lease for its new Manhattan retail location.

August 2015: Michael Kent, assisted by KB&G’s real estate team, represented Neuman’s Kitchen, a leading Manhattan catering concern, in both the buy-out of its current Manhattan lease and the making of a new long-term lease for its planned state of the art facility in Long Island City. KB&G’s team worked closely with its client’s consultants in coordinating design and planning efforts, as well as in maximizing participation in City and State incentive programs.

August 2015: KB&G’s corporate team represented an investment trust client in connection with its venture capital participation in Deedle, LLC, creator and operator of an innovative ad-tech / e-commerce / marketing platform which is linked to a dedicated on-line gaming customer base.

August 2015: KB&G’s real estate team represented Kilroy Architectural Windows in the making of a long-term lease for the relocation to its new facility in the Bronx, as well in Kilroy’s participation in New York City's relocation tax incentive programs.

July 2015: Michael Kent, with KB&G’s real estate team, represented the firm’s long-standing client, Isaia & Isaia, an Italian designer of high-end men’s clothing, in the negotiation and finalization of its lease in Beverly Hills, its first retail store in the US.

May 2015: Harry Beatty represented Metro Newspaper Advertising Services, Inc. in negotiating the purchase agreement, documents of transfer and related court orders to acquire the intellectual property and associated assets of Newspaper Data Exchange, LLC. Harry represented Metro in successfully bidding at a contested auction in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.

May 2015: Christine Rafin obtained the voluntary dismissal of a putative nationwide class action that had been brought in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California against a client for alleged violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

May 2015: Harry Beatty and the corporate law group represented Metro Newspaper Advertising Services, Inc. in negotiating and closing a multi-million dollar asset based revolving credit facility with Gibraltar Business Capital, LLC.

April 2015: On behalf of our clients Dennis Demetre and Lori Lewis, Josh Katz successfully obtained the reversal in the Appellate Division, First Department, of a trial court order dismissing our clients' claim for breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing in connection with an earn-out provision in a Stock Purchase Agreement. The claim seeks to recover more than $200 million in wrongfully withheld earn-out payments.

April 2015: Kent, Beatty & Gordon’s real estate and hospitality team represented the owner of L’Artusi in the restructuring and extension of its lease for its acclaimed West Village restaurant.

April 2015: Facing the impending demolition of 425 Park Avenue, KB&G bid farewell to its long-standing home, and headed west to its new offices at Eleven Times Square, developed as Midtown’s most advanced new commercial tower, affording the latest in cutting-edge technology, security and energy-efficiency features. KB&G joins a world-class roster of companies that includes Microsoft and Proskauer Rose.

March 2015: Jack A. Gordon was featured in Eater Magazine's 33 Photos With Hospitality Attorney Jack Gordon, 'day in the life' series by Nick Solares. The feature article can be viewed here.

February 2015: Michael Kent was a featured panelist on the episode of the TV show The Stoler Report entitled Anatomy of a Deal: The Leasing of Office Space in New York City which is now being broadcast on several cable networks and online outlets. Included was an analysis of Kent, Beatty & Gordon’s upcoming move from its Park Avenue offices to its new home in the state-of-the-art building at 11 Times Square. The show can be viewed [here].

January 2015: Jack Gordon and Josh Katz secured a verdict in January of 2015 for client Broadspring, Inc. after a seven-day Federal trial before Judge Sullivan in the Southern District of New York, where the jury found defendant Congoo liable for multiple counts of defamation.

January 2015: Jack A. Gordon taught a Continuing Legal Education seminar for the National Business Institute entitled Restaurant Law to a national audience of more than 250 participants.

January 2015: Christine Rafin rejoined the Firm as a partner. Christine started her career as an associate at KB&G. After five years with us and then five years with a boutique firm specializing in marketing, promotions, gaming and communications law, she has returned. Christine's practice will continue to focus on commercial litigation and arbitration, as well as Internet, mobile marketing and telemarketing law, data privacy and security law.